Ben and I just got back in town from the Jet City Tattoo Expo. Hat's off to Jasper and Tim for putting together a great show. Everyone had a blast working and hanging out. Not to mention, it took place in one of the nicest casinos I've ever been to. Also, a big thanks to our friends at Triumph Tattoo for putting us up. The people in Washington know how to get tattooed! Here's a few pics of that went down...

Ben Siebert

Steven Turner

On another convention note - if you happen to be in the San Angelo, Texas area near the end of this month, come get tattooed. Ben Siebert and I will be attending the 1st West Texas Tattoo Expo. Drop us a line if you're interested in getting some work done. I, along with fellow machine builiders Andy Bolin and Kevin Wathk

Our good friend Kevin Wathke will be tattooing here at Hell Bomb Thursday Jan. 21-23. Kevin is an amazing tattooer specializing in traditional American/Japanese styles. Come down to the shop if you'd like to get a badass tattoo from Mr. Wathke while he's gracing us with his presence.

First off I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support. I sold a ton of T-Shirts this past week and it really means a lot to me that all of you stepped up to help me out. I'm going to get all these orders off to the printers this Monday and hopefully have them out to you a couple weeks after. If you haven't had a chance to order a shirt and would like to, please make sure you get your order in before Sunday.

On another note, I just had 3 new articles drop in Europe (Skin Deep issue 181, Rise, and Bodyfication). I sent them a bunch of new tattoos that I've never posted on the internet before so if you wanna see them you're gonna hafta scoop yourself up one of these magazines:)

Chris O'Donnell is one of the best tattoo artists alive today. Check out his VBS.tv Art Talk episode. This interview provides a load of insight and inspiration to both tattooers and tattoo collectors, alike. Mr. O'Donnell is an amazing artist and a down-to-earth, humble person. A real gift to the world of tattooing.

Benjamin "Dagger Cats" Siebert, has done it again! This is his rendition of a classic Jerry Collins design from the 1960's. You can't go wrong with tradition.

Benjamin has been a bit reluctant in adopting his recent moniker. As no surprise to us, tattooers worldwide have embraced it. Only time will tell whether or not it will stick. If you happen to see him out on the town, make sure to holla at "dagger cats".

I finally got a healed picture of our counter guy's front panel. Jordon sat like a champion. Three sessions, three weeks, and some serious commitment! If you like what you see, you should come on in and throw down! Be the envy of all your friends, it's all the rage! - Steven

Last Friday I messed up my drawing hand pretty bad playing soccer and unfortunately it has put me in a position where I can't tattoo. So I was trying to figure out a way to supplement my tattoo income and I came up with an idea. I had always wanted to see what would happen if I drew up something left handed and thought this was a good opportunity to try. I sat down with the intention to draw a T-Shirt design to sell to people who were interested in giving me a hand financially and to my surprise it turned out better then I had expected.

I ended up sketching a squirrel (go figure:) named Basher who was the sole survivor in the battle for the Golden Acorn. I also wrote a short story about how he ended up breaking his wrist that can be found behind the image on the T-shirt. If you are interested in scooping up a T-Shirt I would greatly appreciate it. All shirts will be printed on American Apparel and run $23 a piece. They are available in Men's (Grey or Sepia) and Girl's (Grey or Muave). Thank you all so much for your continued support, Jesse Smith

You may not believe it, but here at Hell Bomb Tattoo, we create much more than tattoos. We even create art that's not of the "tattoo art" genre! For those of you Wichitans that may frequent the downtown area for drinks and other activities, come check out some of our new works! Our good friends at the Alibi Room were kind enough to let us display our art. Even if you hate the art, I can guarantee you'll love the bar. Great people and a superb atmosphere. They're located at 919 E. Douglas in Old Town. Above are a few previews... (art will be hanging until the end of Jan.)

There's nothing like some new flooring to get you pumped up! (and yes, I say that seriously) Especially in a tattoo parlour. If only we could get the exterior of the building to look as nice as the inside, but these things take time. It's our goal to create an environment that's inspiring for us as artists, as well as comfortable for our clients. Nothing's worse than coping with a painful experience while in unpleasant surroundings. Besides, our schizophrenic taste in music is probably enough to keep most people feeling loose anyway. Keeping it classy, one day at a time.

In an attempt to stay in touch with anyone who may care... we here at Hell Bomb Tattoo have decided to go the blog route instead of a traditional website. It's easier and more likely to be updated. Hopefully we'll be able to keep things fresh, but as we are tattooers, we do have a tendency to be a bit flakey. We're artists, give us a break.

Things are starting to get a bit busier around the shop, so be sure to stop in soon to make your appointments to spend your tax return money! What better way to treat yourself, right?

We'd also like to take this opportunity to introduce one of our best friends, Larry Keith. Larry is a permanent fixture here at Hell Bomb.

He's been collecting tattoos for the past

40+ years! If you get a chance to meet this wonderful man, consider yourself lucky. An absolute troubadour of tattoo collecting and tattoo appreciation.